While I know it's a good habit to always check the environment, I have a hard time agreeing with you. First of all, if a tool has a default setting that could bring error, then that setting shouldn't be the default. At the very least there should be a conspicuous reminder. Not everyone is very familiar with the software, and not everyone is well aware of the possible consequences of every environmental setting for every tool. Secondly, this is a commercial program that requires payment, and if one really doesn't want to rely on off-the-shelf stuff for everything, one is more likely to choose open source GIS software. However most people do not have such great skills, so they choose to buy Pro, and therefore should not be so hard on the users. Instead, ESRI should think of ways to solve those nagging problems, as well as, really see what the user needs. For example, the highly acclaimed legend patch shape on arcmap, despite many people suggesting in the forums that they would like to see this feature on the Pro, close to two years later, we've seen nothing.
